Entergy grew Q2 2026 net income 3.1% to $482.6M on 9.9% higher industrial (data center-led) sales, but diluted EPS dipped to $1.03 from $1.05 on a 4.6% larger share count and milder weather; 2026 guidance of $4.25–$4.45 affirmed.
Revenue
$3.5B
+5.9% YoY
Net income
$483M
+3.1% YoY
Diluted EPS
$1.03
-1.9% YoY
Operating margin
24.1%
Overview
Entergy, the electric utility serving about 3.07 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, grew second-quarter 2026 net income attributable to the company 3.1% to $482.6 million, but diluted earnings per share slipped to $1.03 from $1.05. The gap between those two numbers is the story of the quarter: Entergy is selling large amounts of new stock to fund a generation build-out for data centers and industrial customers, and the diluted share count rose 4.6% (466.3 million vs. 445.7 million) — faster than profit.
Underneath, the business moved in the right direction. Industrial electricity sales rose 9.9%, driven by data center, primary metals and chlor-alkali customers, and weather-adjusted retail sales grew 5.7%. What held reported results back was a mild quarter compared with a hot one a year earlier and higher interest costs on the debt taken on to fund construction. There were no special adjustments this quarter, so GAAP and Entergy's "adjusted" (non-GAAP) EPS were the same $1.03, per the July 29 earnings release (8-K Exhibit 99.1).
Key metrics
Metric
Q2 2026
Q2 2025
YoY Change
Operating revenues
$3,523.6M
$3,328.8M
+5.9%
Operating income
$850.1M
$837.4M
+1.5%
Operating margin
24.1%
25.2%
-1.1 pts
Net income attributable to Entergy
$482.6M
Read 0 community reports on Entergy, or write your own.Write a report
Operating margin is operating income divided by revenue: the share of each sales dollar left after fuel, power purchases, maintenance, depreciation and taxes other than income tax, before interest and income tax.
Year to date (six months): revenue $6,711.3M (+8.7%), net income attributable to Entergy $867.5M (+4.7%), diluted EPS $1.87 (flat). Adjusted EPS was $1.90 vs. $1.87 — the difference is an $18 million ($14 million after tax) first-quarter impairment tied to selling a non-utility stake in the Independence power plant, which management excludes from adjusted earnings.
Takeaway: Entergy's profit is growing, but the new shares it is issuing to pay for data-center-driven construction are, for now, spreading that profit across more shares. Stripping out the weather effect the company itself estimates, EPS would have risen (see below). The question for the next few years is whether new industrial load and rate increases keep outrunning dilution and interest costs.
Weather hid the underlying growth
Utilities' results swing with temperature — a hotter summer means more air conditioning and more electricity sold. Entergy estimates weather added about $0.08 per share in Q2 2025 but only $0.01 in Q2 2026 (earnings release). By our arithmetic, removing those estimates gives about $1.02 this quarter vs. about $0.97 a year ago — roughly a 5% improvement rather than a decline. Year to date, weather swung from a $0.14 benefit to a $0.02 drag.
Residential sales fell 1.8% as reported, but rose 2.8% after adjusting for weather, which the 10-Q attributes primarily to more customers (residential customers +1.1% to 2.64 million).
Data centers and heavy industry are driving demand
Customer class
Q2 2026 GWh
Q2 2025 GWh
Change
Weather-adjusted
Residential
8,736
8,899
-1.8%
+2.8%
Commercial
7,208
7,265
-0.8%
+0.3%
Industrial
17,164
15,620
+9.9%
+9.9%
Governmental
617
617
0.0%
+1.6%
Total retail
33,725
32,401
+4.1%
+5.7%
Sales for resale (wholesale)
3,338
4,133
-19.2%
—
Source: 10-Q MD&A; weather-adjusted column from the earnings release, Appendix C.
Industrial customers now buy more than half of Entergy's retail electricity. The 10-Q attributes the industrial increase "primarily" to "demand from large industrial customers, primarily in the data center, primary metals, and chlor-alkali industries." Year to date, industrial volume is up 12.3%.
The pipeline behind that growth expanded during the quarter:
Meta, Louisiana: In March 2026 Entergy Louisiana signed a service agreement with Evest LLC, a Meta subsidiary, for a second north Louisiana data center, and applied to build seven new gas-fired combined-cycle plants totaling 5,278 MW (about $12.9 billion) plus a $1.4 billion 500 kV transmission line. The contracts require the customer to pay Entergy's incremental cost to serve it, backed by collateral including a Meta Platforms guaranty. The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is set to consider it at its December 2026 meeting, with a hearing in October.
Amazon Web Services, Mississippi: AWS announced an expansion of its Madison County campuses in April 2026 (served under a February 2025 agreement), and Entergy Mississippi signed a new agreement that month for an AWS data center campus in Hinds County.
Revenue: what moved and what didn't matter
Utility operating revenue rose $197 million. Per the 10-Q, $96 million of that came from fuel and rider revenue that passes costs straight through to customers and "do[es] not significantly affect net income." The parts that do drive profit:
Rate increases: +$80M. Arkansas's formula rate plan (an annual rate reset tied to a target return) from January 2026 and a new Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider from June 2026; Louisiana's resilience-plan rider from March 2026; Mississippi's interim facilities rate adjustment; and Texas's distribution cost recovery factor increases.
Return on construction work in progress: +$40M. Revenue from customer advances designed to give Entergy a return on plants under construction — in effect, large customers paying a return on projects before they're finished.
Volume/weather: +$22M.
Sale of gas distribution businesses: -$41M. Entergy sold its Louisiana and New Orleans gas utilities on July 1, 2025; this revenue loss is largely offset by lower costs.
Costs: interest is the main drag
Interest expense rose to $433.1M from $343.1M (+26%). The 10-Q points to $3.15 billion of mortgage-bond issuance by the Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi subsidiaries in January–March 2026 and, at the parent, $1.3 billion of junior subordinated debentures issued in November 2025. Per the release, interest cost $0.15 per share versus last year.
Other operation and maintenance at the utility rose from $713M to $759M, mainly $24M more vegetation management (tree-trimming around power lines) and $10M higher compensation and benefits (healthcare claims), partly offset by $9M lower bad-debt expense.
Depreciation rose $26M on new plant and higher depreciation rates.
Other income jumped to $179.7M from $95.0M, partly from nuclear decommissioning trust gains, including portfolio rebalancing. Entergy notes that decommissioning-related items are "largely earnings neutral," because they are offset through regulatory charges elsewhere. That offset is part of why operating margin fell to 24.1%: regulatory credits were $15M this quarter vs. $56M a year ago. Real earnings contributions came from $31M more amortization of tax gross-ups on customer advances and $19M more interest earned on money pool investments (the utilities' short-term cash pool).
Rate actions and storm recovery
Louisiana: The 2025 formula rate plan filing (June 2026) showed a 9.63% return on equity (the profit rate on shareholders' capital), inside the 9.7% ± 0.4 pt band. The filing still produced a $222M net increase in plan revenue, largely from $73M of settlement credits to customers ending plus transmission, distribution and capacity recovery, effective September 2026 subject to refund. Entergy Louisiana asked for a one-year extension of the plan.
Arkansas: The 2026 filing showed an 8.8% earned return for 2025, and after a netting adjustment the net change is an $8.8M reduction, recorded as a regulatory charge in Q2.
New Orleans: Requested $16.6M; City Council advisors recommend about $4.4M less.
Mississippi: No change to formula plan revenues for 2026; approved in June.
Winter Storm Fern (January 2026): Restoration cost about $450M ($375M capital), mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi. A new Mississippi law lets the state commission authorize securitization bonds (debt repaid through a dedicated customer charge) for the storm, and Entergy Mississippi plans to file in Q3 2026. Entergy Louisiana is folding its storm costs into its formula plan rather than seeking separate relief.
Capital plan and funding
The 2026–2030 capital plan now totals $66.5 billion (2026: $13.2B; 2027: $16.8B, the peak; 2028: $15.4B), with generation the largest component. The 10-Q says the update mainly reflects the Louisiana generation filed in March 2026.
Funding is visible in the cash flow and balance sheet:
Equity: Entergy expects to issue about $7 billion of equity through 2030, with ~$4.1 billion already settled or contracted under forward sales as of June 30. In May it priced about 19.2 million shares under forward sale agreements (initial forward price $110.74; the release describes a $2.175 billion offering). It received $1.017 billion of net equity proceeds in the first half.
Debt: Total debt was $34.7B vs. $30.5B a year earlier (release). Debt-to-capital was 65.2% vs. 64.3% at year-end 2025, and $3 billion more of junior subordinated debentures is planned through 2030.
Cash flow: First-half operating cash flow rose to $2.72B from $1.80B, helped by $700M of advance payments from customer agreements. Investing outflows grew to $5.09B.
Other items: Grand Gulf nuclear plant moved to the NRC's "Column 2" (more inspection) after a low-safety-significance finding, and a preliminary similar finding is pending at River Bend. Louisiana regulators' staff has objected to the proposed ~$1.5 billion Cottonwood plant acquisition, arguing data center customers should bear its costs.
Outlook
Management affirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.25–$4.45 (earnings release). First-half adjusted EPS of $1.90 is below the halfway point of that range, but Entergy's results are seasonal: Q3 (summer) is typically its strongest quarter. The September 2026 Louisiana rate reset the Arkansas Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider (effective June 2026) and Entergy Texas's new MISO capacity cost recovery rider (approved July 2026) also add revenue in the second half.
Our read: the operating trend is sound — weather-adjusted retail growth near 6% is unusually strong for a utility, and much of the new load comes with customer-funded protections. The risk is sequencing. Interest costs and new shares arrive before the plants they fund earn a full return, so EPS growth may lag profit growth for a while. The regulatory calendar matters: the Meta generation certification (December 2026), the Cottonwood decision (requested by October), and Mississippi storm securitization will decide how much of the capital plan earns returns on schedule.